Microevolution in hybridizing C.flava species aggregate.

My PhD study is dedicated to an intricate Carex flava species complex. This four-species complex is a good model to estimate inter- and intraspecific morphological, genetic (microsatellite) and karyological variation between two different regions of the species distribution area (Estonia and Switzerland). We assess the affect of environment on the local species phenotype and test the hypothesis whether populations of the same species from different regions might possibly even be more distinct from each other than populations of different species within the same region.